Day 386

Last night, after I blogged, I worked on my Link ears a little more, messing with the makeup. I didn't get any allergic reaction today, and it's been more than 24 hours, so I plan to use them for AOD. I made them darker, since they were way too light anyway, and put more shading and highlighting. They still need a little work, but I've got over two months.

That's about it though, I haven't worked on anything. I haven't really wanted to. Just want to get out of the house.

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Makeup Recommendation: Almay Blemish Reducer

In cosplay, a lot of people look at you and take your picture. So while you may not even care about how your face looks in everyday life, you may care while you're in costume. (Or you may not care what anyone thinks at all, kudos to you!) So every now and again, I might post some makeup info, but I may start a blog specifically for makeup tips and recommendations, in which case any makeup posts from here will be copied to the other blog (and deleted from here).

Unfortunately, I couldn't find a site, or even part of a site, specifically for the product I'm recommending, so here's the Official Almay Site.

I honestly didn't think this stuff would work at all. It's a compact powder that doubles as a cover-up and an acne / blemish reducer (it of course comes in a wide variety of skin tones). Liquid acne reducers (such as benzoyl peroxide) actually don't do much for me. Things like Clean & Clear work, but they usually stop working after a while as though I build up an immunity. I don't know if that's even possible. Also, Clean & Clear and other benzoyl peroxide-besed products dry out my skin like you wouldn't believe.

I actually didn't even notice much of a change when I first started using Almay
s Blemish Reducer either. I actually broke out a little more than usual first, but that happens sometimes. (For those that don't know, acne cleansers will usually bring out acne hiding beneath the surface of the skin before getting rid of it.)

After maybe a week or so, I noticed a significant reduction in not only acne, but also redness, blackheads, and enlarged pores. I've been having issues with my Godzilla-sized pores for a while now, so I was extremely happy to see those reduced.

I apply the makeup / blemish reducer two to three times a day. Once before putting on my makeup in the morning, I then put my regular makeup over it, but that's optional as it is also a cover-up; I do touch-ups during the day if I see a lot has come off; and then once after washing my face before I go to bed. Yes, you can leave this product on overnight, and it does say to use two to three times a day.

I'm not impressed with it's application method though, a cheap, fabric-y / sponge-y... Thing. I don't even know what it's called. You can apply it with a brush, but you'll need a rather high-quality brush, as anything low-quality will just cut through the compact powder and fling it into the air. Using a brush also doesn't cover the redness as well and the sponge-wannabe that comes with it.

The compact case that it comes in is rather convenient, as it has a mirror in it and is nicely sized, but it doesn't really have anywhere to keep the sponge-wannabe. (I just end up putting it on top of the makeup and closing the case, but it's not like there's a lot of extra room in there for it.) The case isn't small enough to fit in a pocket (it's about 2 X 2 X 0.5), but it would probably fit nicely in a purse or backpack and wouldn't get damaged or accidentally opened up other stuff.

On a side-note, I also use Almay eyeliner and mascara (too lazy to check what types right now), and normally I'm not one too be picky about makeup other than concealer, but Almay has yet to fail me. Their twist-up eyeliner is the only black eyeliner I'll ever use.

I definitely recommend Almay Blemish Reducer or Clear Complexion (yeah, there's two, might be wrong on the exact names though). It's convenient, useful, and actually works.

Special thanks to my cousin Katie (aka MoE) for recommending it to me. ♥

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Makeup Maintenance

I stayed up hecka late last night. Inhumanly awake. I didn't fall asleep until after six-thirty when my mom was already out of bed and the sun was coming up. So of course, I slept in really late too, until about three-thirty, I think. So, naturally, I did basically nothing all day. So, today's topic: Makeup Maintenance.

Please note that this is not about makeup application or brands. Maybe I'll do something like that later, but this isn't it.

Makeup & Conventions
I prefer to have two sets of makeup and brushes: my everyday, high quality makeup and brushes, and my convention, lower quality makeup and brushes. I usually use the high-quality makeup and brushes before leaving for the convention, and then pack the cheap stuff to take with me. (When I stay overnight for Fanime, I plan to take my good makeup and brushes and leave them in the hotel room.)
I have one high-quality brush that I take with me to conventions though. It it an eyeshadow brush specifically made for travel (retractable). It actually does make a difference what type of brush you use, as a higher-quality brush will give you smoother lines.
I keep all of my brushes and makeup together in my convention bag, in a small pouch that is easy to take out so that you don't have to take the whole backpack into the bathroom for touch-ups. I also bring a small, compact mirror.

Cleaning Brushes
I clean my brushes after each use (as opposed to before each use). The reason being that my brushes take at least twelve hours to fully dry. I don't clean my brushes if I use them for a costume's makeup and I know for sure that I will be using them for that costume's makeup the next time I use them. (Example: I use them for Mello's makeup and know that the next time I will use those particular brushes will be for Mello's makeup again.)
To check if a brush really need to be cleaned, rub it on the back of your hand, as if applying makeup, and see if anything comes off. If it does, you definitely need to clean it. If not, you could probably get away with not cleaning it.
So here's step-by-step on how I clean my brushes:
• Hold the brush in your dominant hand (I am right-handed), place the bristles on your non-dominant hand (in my case, left) and run it under warm water.
• Put a small amount of soap in the palm of your [left] hand, preferably something non-scented and with minimal chemicals, baby shampoo / soap is good.
• Move the brush in either a circular or back-and-forth motion in the soap until the soap changed into the color of the makeup that was in the brush.
• Rinse and repeat until the soap either doesn't change color or it's a really light color.
• Run the brush under the water and move it in the same motion as when washing it with soap. Continue until the water runs clear.
• Use your hands to wring out the brush and set it down so that a majority of the bristles are not twisted or curved. The brush should retain its full form once dried, even the cheap ones.

Storing Your Makeup
I have two makeup boxes, and I still don't feel like it's enough. I sort my makeup by brushes, eyeshadow & liquid eyeliner, face makeup (cover-up & glitter), lip makeup (lipstick & gloss), "crayon" eyeliners, mascaras, and extra makeup "parts" (sponge pads, eyelash curler cushions, etc.). I also have a separate box for makeup & brushes I use every day, and another box specifically for theatrical makeup (body / face paint, liquid latex, Spirit Gum, etc.).

I may come back and update this post on occasion. If you're interested, bookmark the page. =]

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Day Eight

First day of October! The best month ever! I swear, Halloween is like Christmas for me.
I however did nothing cosplay-related. I played with makeup for my possible Halloween costume change, but I didn't really like it. I managed to burn my finger while ironing in my Costume Construction class. NOT fun. I can't type much though, due to the finger (I burned the tip), which is a shame because I had a good topic for today's post too. So sometime in the next week: Genderbending vs. Crossplay!

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Cosplayers & Halloween

I'm starting to regret starting this blog at this time. I'm not doing anything cosplay-related... I played with makeup this morning, taking the color out of my lips for crossplay, and practicing my makeup for Halloween.

I've heard that some cosplayers actually don't like Halloween because of all the "amateurs" and people that buy poorly-made Halloween Store costumes. I like to think of Halloween as a break from cosplay. I can still get into costume, which is usually something random and baseless, and still get complimented on my creativity, but it doesn't take nearly as much effort.

This year's Halloween costume is an upgraded version of my costume last year, a butterfly. I bought small, children-sized butterfly wings, a black mini skirt, and black knee-high pleather boots from a second-hand store, black tights with various colored butterflies on them, a lace jacket, and various colored hair extensions from Hot Topic, a pink tank top from Basic, and found a butterfly mask that my mom had bought a few years ago at a flea market, I believe. The mask, however, goes on the back of my head, held on with chopsticks through the eyes. I'm thinking of buying better, plastic chopsticks from a Japanese store called Daiso, but money is unbelievably tight, so I'm stuck with wooden ones for now.

I know it's early to plan my costume, but the Spirit Halloween store just came back into town for the season and I'm planning a Halloween party as well.

I feel like I've got a lot on my plate, what with YaoiCon and Haloween literally at the same time, and me planning to do both, YaoiCon the day before Halloween, of course, as it'll take all day to prepare for my Halloween night scary movie / costume party.

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